Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Morikawa was assessed a 2-stroke penalty at the Hero World Challenge, but was not happy with how he found out.
When Collin Morikawa woke up Sunday morning, he thought he had an outside shot at capturing Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. He finished his third round 10-under par, six shots back of eventual winner Scottie Scheffler.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t until just before tee time Sunday that Morikawa found out what had occurred. Stephen Cox, PGA Tour chief referee, had informed Morikawa’s caddie early Sunday morning. But it was what transpired later in the morning that frustrated the 2-time major champion.
“To be honest, I was a little mad at Stephen [Cox],” Morikawa told NBC’s Todd Lewis. “He told us to meet him in the locker room. I was waiting in there for about five minutes and he didn’t show up. This was midway through my warm-up… If you’re going to tell me some news, I think you should show up on time and give it to me.”
: Collin Morikawa has told Todd Lewis live on NBC he was unimpressed with PGA Tour chief referee Stephen Cox over the way his two-shot penalty was reported to him.
“To be honest, I was a little mad at Stephen,” said Morikawa. “He told us to meet him in the locker… https://t.co/7FnDa4Dvrp
— bunkered (@BunkeredOnline) December 3, 2023
Collin Morikawa’s perspective
During Saturday’s third round, Morikawa was playing alongside Ryder Cup rival Matt Fitzpatrick.
On the fourth hole, Morikawa’s caddie used a level to measure the slope of the green. He then transferred that information into the yardage book. That was in direct violation of Model Local Rule G-11, which prohibits players from using green-reading materials other than their pre-approved yardage book.
What really makes things interesting is how the PGA Tour found out the infraction occurred.
“I think Fitzy overheard us just kind of on the fourth hole yesterday. I had like a 10-footer up the hill, 10-footer up the hill kind of for par. I just asked J.J., and I think he [Matt Fitzpatrick] just kind of looked at J.J. — because in the past we’ve just kind of like just memorized and seen stuff and all that stuff. I think he just saw J.J. look in his book. Obviously it’s concerning if somebody’s looking in their book,” Morikawa said after his round Sunday.
Yet, he wasn’t even convinced what he and his caddie were doing was against the rules.
“[We] got assessed a two-stroke penalty on 4 yesterday for what we had deemed to be an OK thing. And the only reason why we deemed that, what we had in our notes was OK was because he had asked other officials… and when you ask an official something, you assume it’s right.
“From our understanding it was fine to use a level on the practice green and see how putts break and write that down. Obviously it’s not.”
Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images
Nevertheless, the Southern California native took ownership of his mistake and holds no ill will toward Fitzpatrick.
“Look, I’m not going to fight it. If I broke the rules, I broke the rules and that’s on me, I have to take it… He [Fitzpatrick] did what any competitor should do.”
That is obviously the right approach to take. But the frustration is however understandable considering how it appears to have transpired.
Matt Fitzpatrick’s role in the controversy
Fitzpatrick, who many might have only heard the story or saw a headline, might assume the Englishman ratted out his fellow PGA Tour pro. But that wasn’t exactly how it happened.
“I was on the green, I heard Collin ask the question. J.J. gave him an answer from his yardage book… I have wanted to use AimPoint earlier this year. I spoke to my putting coach, Phil Kenyon, about it. He told me that he was pretty certain I can’t write the numbers down or use the AimPoint numbers.
“Yesterday it happened and I asked Coxy [Stephen Cox] just to clarify what the situation was. I asked the question and he was like, well, now you’ve asked the question, I need you to tell me what’s going on. That was it.
“Listen, it’s nothing personal. Whether it was Tiger or whoever, it’s just I wanted to know because I would have used it earlier this year,” Fitzpatrick said in the media room Sunday evening.
Fitzy even then alleviated the guilt from Morikawa’s camp.
“I think the issue was he’s been told one thing by one rules official and then obviously we’ve had another thing by another rules official.”
I think it’s quite obvious there was no intent to cheat. This tournament, hosted by Tiger Woods, is like a vacation for 20 of the best players in the world. Granted, for some reason no one can justify, the Hero World Challenge awarded OWGR points, but that’s a topic for another story.
Kendall Capps is the Senior Editor of SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social media platforms.
